Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky did not take to the ice with the main group of Blue Jackets yesterday, but this was by design.

Instead of facing a deluge of pucks during a practice in which the Jackets worked exclusively on the power play, Bobrovsky waited until that 45-minute session ended to start his own 30-minute workout with three other players.

The decision was made, with heavy input from goaltending coach Ian Clark, as a means to keep Bobrovsky as fresh and energized as possible.

He’s expected to make his 19th consecutive start tonight, when the Blue Jackets play host to the Detroit Red Wings at Nationwide Arena.

“Today was a really smart move by management and coaches,” Bobrovsky said. “I did the work I needed to do, and the team did just what they needed.

“It’s not always the same thing we need, and today was one of those days.”

That was left to backup Curtis McElhinney, who can use the repetition with so little playing time. Blue Jackets pro video scout Mike Battaglia, a former minor-league goalie, donned the pads and took to the other end of the ice.

Bobrovsky said his focus today was “nothing new, just reminders.”

But it was imperative that he got on and off the ice quickly. The Blue Jackets face 11 games in 19 days beginning tonight, a brutal mental and physical demand for any player, much less the goaltender.

Bobrovsky said he’s making himself sleep nine hours instead of eight.

Asked to measure his energy level, Bobrovsky smiled.

“Right now, my main focus is on the games and the two points,” he said. “We have to take a playoff spot. I try to not think about anything else.”

Lineup changes?

Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards would not commit to any lineup changes, but he acknowledged the need for more energy in the lineup after a sleepy 2-0 loss to the New York Islanders on Sunday.

Richards allowed that, in hindsight, Sunday’s game might have been a good time to get Blue Jackets right wing Jared Boll back in the mix. Boll hasn’t played since having ankle surgery in November.

“When you look back at it, you do (wonder that),” Richards said. “And when I got on the plane to come home, I was thinking … a guy like (Corey Tropp), with the energy he brings, you know he’s going to bring it every night.”

Tropp was a healthy scratch on Sunday so R.J. Umberger, a scratch the previous two games, could rejoin the lineup.

Slap shots

The Blue Jackets are 6-1-1 in their past eight games against Detroit, including 4-0-1 at Nationwide Arena. … Bobrovsky is 4-2-1 with a 1.97 goals-against average and .937 save percentage against Detroit in his career. … The Jackets recalled defenseman Tim Erixon and reassigned defenseman Frederic St. Denis to minor-league Springfield.

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